Thread Tools

I can think of no more appropriate day than this one, on which to resurrect this Thread.

On The Brink

I think we are on the verge of something special, Gentlemen.

In fact, I believe that our Defense's stunning domination of the high-powered Planet Hoosten Offense on Monday Night will prove to be only the beginning ~ a glorious Harbinger of Great Things Yet To Come.

I believe that the vast majority of my Fellow Fans ~ respectfully submitted, and with the obvious exception of Brother Mayo ~ have no idea what is about to transpire with our Secondary...and our Defense.

Of course, that statement might appear hideously presumptuous.

But I presume nothing, Gentlemen!!

It is merely a Prediction.

The Quickening ~ An Harbinger of Great Things Yet To Come

The Impact of Confidence ~ and Monday's astonishing Rout can only infuse an Ocean of Confidence into our Defender's veins ~ can be colossal.

...especially if it's supported by months of relentless Work and a great deal of Talent.

These are the very same guys ~ except for Aqib Talib replacing Ras I Dowling, of course ~ that were flailing around madly, the first 6 weeks of the season...

Yet with the flat out brilliant structural Reconfiguration of Responsibilities & Roles, since then...and several weeks, now, to acclimate themselves to the Roles and to playing with each other within those roles...things have really started to click.

And when things start to click ~ when Instinct takes over ~ phenomenal things can start to happen.

Indeed, I believe that they have already begun.

Consider, if you will:

8 Weeks Ago

1 ~ Devin McCourty ~ Mired in inconsistency. A talented Player, but at the wrong Position.

2 ~ Kyle Arrington ~ Last year's Great Story was this year's Epic Disaster.

3 ~ Dennard's a better Corner than McCourty, but ~ far more importantly ~ McCourty has the potential to be an outstanding Free Safety, and we've all watched'm rapidly grow into the position, since Week 6.

4 ~ This in turn allows us to boot Chung to the bench, and allow the wily but only marginally talented Steve Gregory to focus on more of an hybrid "Strong Safety/2nd Free Safety" role, which is far better suited to'is skillset than the pure Cover 2 Role that he previously sucked at.

5 ~ And all those changes ~ The Ripple Effect that I wrote about ~ in turn freed up Brandon Spikes and the other MidFielders to play to their strengths: Spikes averaged a measly 4.33 Tackles per Game through Week #6, but has exploded for 7.86 Tackles per Game, since then...but his Impact since The McCourty Move has been far more intimidating than mere Tackles.

6 ~ To top it all off, The Aqib Talib Trade allowed us to boot Kyle Arrington down to Slot Corner...and Arrington has caught fire since that move, tearing up the field, making Plays, and holding his Targets to an astonishing 5 for 19 over the last 4 weeks!!

7 ~ Talib himself has worked through the expected Growing Pains, but he, too, has improved by leaps and bounds, and his exquisitely tenacious coverage of Andre Johnson, Monday Night, was an essential part of the phenomenal Night our Defense put out there, as this much-maligned Defense demoted Planet Hoosten from the #2 Offense to the #4 Offense in a single Night!!

4 ~ Devin McCourty ~ Born to play Free Safety. We could really have something special, here.

5 ~ Steve Gregory ~ No superstar, by any means, but a smart, scrappy, and athletic Safety who has Flipped The Switch and transformed from a scary Weakness to a definite Strength, over the last few weeks.

What I See Through The Looking Glass

There's no denying it: What was a nightmarish weakness, a mere 8 weeks ago, has evolved ~ precisely as foretold, Brothers!! ~ into a decided Strength.

But what really fills me with a sense of anticipatory awe...is that these guys have only just begun to realize how good they can be.

I'm not being funny, Gents: I believe that Monday Night will prove to be an eye opener for every one of the guys on this Defense on a dramatic scale: Only now, I think, do they realize how very, very Good they can be.

I mean: They shut Planet Hoostendown.

I presume nothing, Ladies & Laddies...But I believe that ~ come MidNight ~ the Defense that most people will be talking about won't be San Fransisco's...

It'll be ours.

A Few Fresh Predictions!!

1 ~ The Patriots ~ not the Miners ~ will bring the Dominant Defense, tonight.

2 ~ Brandon Spikes ~ with only 5 Tackles, ere the last 2 weeks ~ will pile up 10, tonight...or will in any case wield a comparably dominant effect on the outcome of this Game.

what makes it more exciting is that is a very young group that has a massive upside, by this time next year we could be looking at the best D in the NFL clicking with the Best O in the History of the league.

1. By the end of season the Pats' defense will be averaging under 20 PPG. They have given up 274 points for the season, which means they will have to average around 15 PPG over the next 3 games to achieve that. I believe that is eminently manageable against San Francisco, Jacksonville and Miami. I think we will end up around 6th or 7th in scoring defense.

2. I believe that the Pats' D will be a concensus "top 10" D and perhaps even borderline top 5 in 2013. There will not be any of the huge numbers we have seen the past few years in terms of 3rd down completion rate, passing yardage, etc.

3. The big prediction: I believe that by the end of the 2013/beginning of the 2014 season the Pats' defense - not the 49ers' defense and certainly not the Ravens' or Steelers' - will be one of the 2 dominant defenses in the NFL, along with the Seahawks' D.

Why?

- The only critical member of the defense over 30 is Vince Wilfork
- Many key members are still under 25 and should get better
- The defense has barely had a chance to play together; getting more continuity and time to gel should make a big difference
- The only key members of the defense who need to be re-signed in the next 15 months are Aqib Talib and Brandon Spikes.
- Adding a few key pieces will allow the defense to be ramped up another notch

Great read. Because of the confidence in the corners, the defense can play more man coverage and apply more pressure. This will be important when the Patriots face dangerous passing offenses in the playoffs, like Denver and either GB or ATL in the super bowl.

Everybody will come down to earth after this game. Our defense is competent, but nowhere near great. I am excited because I believe we don't need our defense to be anything more than competent. But the best defense in the NFL by next year? Yeah right. It was one game where we looked dominant, I loved it, but I'm still not sold.

Everybody will come down to earth after this game. Our defense is competent, but nowhere near great. I am excited because I believe we don't need our defense to be anything more than competent. But the best defense in the NFL by next year? Yeah right. It was one game where we looked dominant, I loved it, but I'm still not sold.

Click to expand...

That's why some of us who have watched 50+ years of football are here to enlighten the less experienced

what makes it more exciting is that is a very young group that has a massive upside, by this time next year we could be looking at the best D in the NFL clicking with the Best O in the History of the league.

Click to expand...

True STORY, Brother 13!!

No word of a Lie, Brother: Even myIrish powers of HyperBole are hard-pressed to fully engrasp the vast, lofty, luminescent, and downright celestial Possibilities of The Team That Bill Built!!

Everybody will come down to earth after this game. Our defense is competent, but nowhere near great. I am excited because I believe we don't need our defense to be anything more than competent. But the best defense in the NFL by next year? Yeah right. It was one game where we looked dominant, I loved it, but I'm still not sold.

1. By the end of season the Pats' defense will be averaging under 20 PPG. They have given up 274 points for the season, which means they will have to average around 15 PPG over the next 3 games to achieve that. I believe that is eminently manageable against San Francisco, Jacksonville and Miami. I think we will end up around 6th or 7th in scoring defense.

2. I believe that the Pats' D will be a concensus "top 10" D and perhaps even borderline top 5 in 2013. There will not be any of the huge numbers we have seen the past few years in terms of 3rd down completion rate, passing yardage, etc.

3. The big prediction: I believe that by the end of the 2013/beginning of the 2014 season the Pats' defense - not the 49ers' defense and certainly not the Ravens' or Steelers' - will be one of the 2 dominant defenses in the NFL, along with the Seahawks' D.

Why?

- The only critical member of the defense over 30 is Vince Wilfork
- Many key members are still under 25 and should get better
- The defense has barely had a chance to play together; getting more continuity and time to gel should make a big difference
- The only key members of the defense who need to be re-signed in the next 15 months are Aqib Talib and Brandon Spikes.
- Adding a few key pieces will allow the defense to be ramped up another notch

Click to expand...

Great stuff, Brother Mayo!! :rocker:

1 ~ Regarding the SeaHawks...Does anyone know the last time a team scored 50 Points in back to back Games???

You've come a long way, Coach Pete!!

2 ~ Couldn't agree more with you on this team's enormous potential for a 2 to even a 6 year Monster Run: Thanks to Mad Bill's 1000 Machinations, we are loaded, Baby!! On both sides of the Ball!! :rocker:

1 ~ Regarding the SeaHawks...Does anyone know the last time a team scored 50 Points in back to back Games???

You've come a long way, Coach Pete!!

2 ~ Couldn't agree more with you on this team's enormous potential for a 2 to even a 6 year Monster Run: Thanks to Mad Bill's 1000 Machinations, we are loaded, Baby!! On both sides of the Ball!! :rocker:

Click to expand...

I actually the Seahawks may be the one team in the NFL that pose a really serious threat to us this year, if we both play well. That's a good, good team, and one that's getting better. Just as we're getting better on defense, they're getting better on offense with the astonishingly rapid maturation of Russell Wilson. I think they'll be very confident hosting San Francisco next week, regardless of what transpires tonight. Different team from the one SF beat 13-6 week 7. A Super Bowl rematch would be interesting, because our defense has improved dramatically, but so has their offense, and because they wouldn't be intimidated.

I think the SF defense may be a year or so away from a bit of a downswing, for a few reasons:

1. You can't have 20 sack seasons every year, no matter how good you are.
2. Justin Smith will be 34 at the start of the 2013 season. He may start to slow down, especially, playing 93% of the snaps. Carlos Rogers will be 32, and has played over 97% of the snaps.
3. They've had ridiculous good luck with injuries, and don't have that much depth.

And if they can't keep Dashon Goldson, the different could be more significant. Seattle's defense is much younger and built for a long run. If I were to look at a time on the edge of being an NFC powerhouse that could challenge the Pats, Seattle would get my vote. But if our defense continues to improve and with our offense, we're good for the next several years to match up with anyone.

I actually the Seahawks may be the one team in the NFL that pose a really serious threat to us this year, if we both play well. That's a good, good team, and one that's getting better. Just as we're getting better on defense, they're getting better on offense with the astonishingly rapid maturation of Russell Wilson. I think they'll be very confident hosting San Francisco next week, regardless of what transpires tonight. Different team from the one SF beat 13-6 week 7. A Super Bowl rematch would be interesting, because our defense has improved dramatically, but so has their offense, and because they wouldn't be intimidated.

I think the SF defense may be a year or so away from a bit of a downswing, for a few reasons:

1. You can't have 20 sack seasons every year, no matter how good you are.
2. Justin Smith will be 34 at the start of the 2013 season. He may start to slow down, especially, playing 93% of the snaps. Carlos Rogers will be 32, and has played over 97% of the snaps.
3. They've had ridiculous good luck with injuries, and don't have that much depth.

And if they can't keep Dashon Goldson, the different could be more significant. Seattle's defense is much younger and built for a long run. If I were to look at a time on the edge of being an NFC powerhouse that could challenge the Pats, Seattle would get my vote. But if our defense continues to improve and with our offense, we're good for the next several years to match up with anyone.

Click to expand...

I actually just said ~ repeated ~ that exact same thing, one the phone, to my Brother, about 3 minutes ago.

I've already predicted ~ earlier this week ~ that the Hawks would upend the Miners and seize the Division, despite being 1.5 Games back with 3 to go.